Wednesday, April 29, 2009

A New Vision

I began my blogging experiment a few months ago, desiring to express and share myself through this medium. I didn't really know what I wanted of my blog; I just knew that I wanted to write and to share my faith with others.

In some ways, I liked the title "....." There was a sort of mystery to it. For me, it was an openness to where God was leading me. To write when I was inspired.

Yet, I have felt an inner stirring to bring focus to my blog. To truly find my voice--to write in a way that is most authentic for me. What do I hope of this blog? Where do I want it to go?

Throughout this entire semester, one of the themes that has continuously come back to me is the theme of my journey toward God, that inward pilgrimage throughout my life that led me into my vocation with the Jesuits. I love God deeply, though admittedly unperfectly, and have faith that God supremely and profoundly loves me at a level beyond all understanding. God, through Jesus Christ, who, in his divine nature, came down to be as one among us, died a humiliating death, and as a result brought to the world a new and profound hope, a wholly different and radical promise of life, that has never before existed. It is that love which grounds me, that impels me forward to live this life of mine.

Sometimes, when I visit a number of blogs on the web, I leave feeling more depressed. It's a constant stream of criticism, of tearing down the other without care. This is why I wish my blog to be inspiring--I do not intend this blog to be a polemical blog, although there is certainly a place for them. But, that is not my way. Through my writing, I want to increase that faith, hope, and love that I have of God and to share it with all of you. I want to continuously affirm God's presence among us, to find those moments where I cannot help pray in thanksgiving for what I have been given. To rejoice in all the Lord has done for us. To profoundly say yes to this graced life, to the gifts that God gives all of us.

This is what I desire, and I feel this is what God desires of me at this time.

So, I am changing the title of the site. Join me as I embark on this new chapter of my blog into God's embrace.

About Me

My name is Ryan Rallanka, and I am a currently a Jesuit Scholastic from the Oregon Province and teaching Freshman theology at Jesuit High School in Portland, Oregon.
I grew up in Sacramento, CA where I first encountered the Jesuits at Jesuit High School. I later attended Seattle University where I obtained a double major in English and Sociology. I recently received a Master's in Philosophical Resources at Fordham University.
Writing, playing piano, singing, praying, hanging out with my Jesuit Brothers, and laughing are a few of the many activities that I enjoy as a Jesuit.
I believe in God who profoundly loves us beyond our wildest imagination, whose kindness and mercy widely surpasses the limits of our human understanding. I hope primarily to share my journey as a Jesuit and create a space for me to document my experiences. May my blog deepen and enrich your own faith life. AMDG
(any opinions/views are strictly my own and do not represent the Society of Jesus as a whole)